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About Me

I am primarily a feltmaker and author of books on feltmaking. I create wall pieces in felt and experiment with new directions in feltmaking so that I can eventually write articles about them. My business partner, Kathe Todd-Hooker and I have Fine Fiber Press and Studio, where we teach and publish books on feltmaking, tapestry weaving and related fiber arts. We also sell equipment for feltmakers and tapestry weavers.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

I have been doing a lot of bellydancing lately and am now going to start teaching a beginner's class. Wearing something on the hips is very important in bellydancing so that the student can see in the mirror how well their hips are moving. It is also important for the teacher to see if their technique needs to be corrected. One of my bellydance buds, Shellece Swafford Millison, was wearing a fringe belt made from a t-shirt. She said that when she assisted at teaching a class for high school students, they made these belts because they were cheap and easy to do.

So I decided to try and make one for myself and then to teach the students in my class how to do so. I searched online for the instructions, and couldn't find any. So here is my version of how to do this.

T-Shirt Fringe Belt for Bellydance PracticePat Spark copyright 2009

This is a simple fringe belt for bellydance class or practice. You will need: a t-shirt broad enough to fit across your hips when it is stretched; a table; sharp scissors or rotary cutter (with mat). If the t-shirt is too broad for your hips, you can cut off some of the sides to make it smaller.

Procedure:

1. Turn shirt inside out so that the seams show.

2. Lay the shirt flat on a table and cut off the top seam and neckline.

3. Cut off the arm and side seams.

4. Cut strips up the body of the t-shirt to make the fringes.They are cut up as high as the underarm.The strips can be from 1 ½ -2 inches wide.Or some can be that wide and some can be ¾ inch wide to make a narrow strip that beads can be strung onto for a little more swing.

5. Add beads to the strips if you want.

6. Use the arms as ties to tie on the belt at your hips. Have fun and dance!